IME 211 Introduction to
Manufacturing Processes
Lecture (5) – Week 5 (31 October 2024)
Metal Casting Processes and Equipment (II)
Couse Instructor
Mohamed G Nassef, PhD
Associate Professor
IME Department
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NASSEF
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Casting Using Permanent Moulds
❑ Metallic moulds (usually from alloy steel called die
steel) are used many times (in order of thousands)
❑ Metallic moulds are divided into:
➔ Low Pressure Permanent (gravity) moulds.
➔ High Pressure Permanent moulds
➔ Centrifugal casting moulds
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Permanent-mold Casting
❑ Two halves of a mold are made from materials with high
resistance to wear and corrosion.
❑ The mold cavity, gating system, vents, and cooling system
are machined into the mold and thus become an integral
part of it.
❑ To produce castings with internal cavities, cores made of
metal or sand aggregate are placed in the mold prior to
casting.
❑ In order to maintain the life of molds, the surfaces of the
mold cavity usually are coated with a refractory slurry (i.e.
sodium silicate) or sprayed with graphite every few castings.
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Advantages vs Disadvantages
❑ The process know as gravity casting or hard-mold casting.
Advantages Limitations
• Good surface finish • Equipment costs can be high
• Close dimensional tolerances, because of high die costs.
• good mechanical properties,
• High production rates. • The process is not economical
for small production runs
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1. Low Pressure
Permanent Mold
Casting
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Low Pressure Permanent Mold Casting
Fig.: Schematic illustration for low-pressure vacuum casting process
Ref: http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1392
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Low Pressure Permanent Mold Casting
Principle of Work
1. In low pressure casting, the molten metal is forced upward
by gas pressure into a metal mold.
2. The pressure is maintained until the metal has solidified
completely in the mold.
3. The molten metal also may be forced upward by a vacuum,
which also removes dissolved gases and produces a
casting with lower porosity.
4. Low-pressure die casting is suitable for the production of
high quality castings that are symmetric about an axis of
rotation.
5. Light automotive wheels are normally manufactured by this
technique
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2. High Pressure Die
Casting
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2. High Pressure Die Casting
❑ Casting are produced by forcing molten metal under high
pressure into reusable metal moulds called “Dies”
❑ Usually steel (tool steel or die steel) dies are used.
❑ Die casting is able to produce strong and high-quality parts with
complex shapes.
❑ The weight of most castings ranges from less than 90 g to about
25 kg.
❑ Equipment costs, particularly the cost of dies, are somewhat
high, but labor costs are generally low, because the process is
semi- or fully automated.
❑ Die casting is economical for large production runs.
❑ There are two basic types of die-casting machines: hot-
chamber and cold-chamber machines.
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Hot-chamber Die Casting
Fig.: Schematic illustration of the hot-chamber die-casting process.
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Hot-chamber Die Casting Principle Of Work
1. In this process, a piston forces a certain volume of metal
into the die cavity through a gooseneck and nozzle.
2. The metal is held under pressure until it solidifies in the die.
3. To improve die life and to aid in rapid metal cooling (thereby
reducing cycle time), dies usually are cooled by circulating
water or oil through various passageways in the die block.
4. Low-melting-point alloys (such as tin, and lead) commonly
are cast using this process.
5. Cycle times usually range from 200 to 300 shots (individual
injections) per hour for zinc, although very small
components, such as zipper teeth, can be cast at rates of
18,000 shots per hour.
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Cold-chamber Die Casting
• molten metal is poured into the
injection cylinder (shot chamber).
• The chamber is not heated-hence
the term cold chamber.
Fig.: Schematic illustration of the cold-chamber die-casting process. These
machines are large compared to the size of the casting, because high forces are
required to keep the two halves of the dies closed under pressure.
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Advantages/Disadvantages of Die Casting
Advantages Disadvantages
➢ High production rates, ➢ High cost
with high level of ➢ Limited size (<50 kg)
automation ➢ Limited for alloys of
➢ Good surface finish relatively medium
➢ Economical for large melting temperatures
quantities
➢ High accuracy of ➢Zn
dimensions ➢Al
➢Mg
➢Cu
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Centrifugal Casting
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Centrifugal Casting
❑ In true centrifugal casting, hollow cylindrical parts are
produced by this technique.
❑ In this process, molten metal is poured into a rotating mold.
❑ The axis of rotation is usually horizontal, but can be vertical
for short workpieces.
❑ Molds are made of steel, iron, or graphite and may be
coated with a refractory lining to increase mold life.
❑ The inner surface of the casting remains cylindrical, because
the molten metal is distributed uniformly by the centrifugal
forces.
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Centrifugal Casting Demonstration
❑ Castings with good quality, dimensional accuracy, and external surface
detail are produced by this process.
Fig.: (a) Schematic illustration of the centrifugal-casting process. Pipes, cylinder liners, and
similarly shaped parts can be cast with this process. (b) Side view of the machine.
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